My View: Rockford must make changes to tackle blight

We have been reading with interest some of the opinions on the city getting rid of properties that need to be torn down. We live in the Browns Hills Historic District, and we bought a rundown foreclosure next door to us on North Prospect Street.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the agency Ron and Julie Sunday of Rockford are dealing with in their attempt to demolish a rundown foreclosure they bought.

We have been reading with interest some of the opinions on the city getting rid of properties that need to be torn down. We live in the Browns Hills Historic District, and we bought a rundown foreclosure next door to us on North Prospect Street.

The condition is bad enough that we thought we could just have it demolished and have the extra green space. It’s only on a half lot anyway. Financially, it’s not worth putting the money into this house that needs everything, including some problems with the limestone foundation.

Well, in order to get a demo permit, we needed a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. They denied it and said they can’t allow any demolitions. They seem to think people have unlimited funds to fix these dilapidated properties back up again. They even stated that if they allow a demolition, then there are five more people that want to demo property in historic areas.

I’m thinking, let’s get started! I feel the house is beyond repair, at least for us financially. The Historic Preservation Commission is very afraid of setting a precedent by allowing ANY demolitions in the historic districts; they even came out and said that at the meeting.

The problem, they say, is that the house is in a historic district, not that the house has any historic value. I think each house should be looked at separately and determine if it has any historic value, not just because it is in a historic district.

We are the property owners, and we cannot tear down our own house. The Historic Preservation Commission needs to make some changes on its restrictions. The city's blight problem is based on economics. The solution is not imposing penalties in an effort to force people to spend money they can never recover. Our city needs to gain some common sense and apply practical solutions.

The demolition permit needs to be granted. Eventually the city will drag us through code enforcement. We will either have to spend money on the property that we can't recover because the value is not there, or the city will impose fines and liens to the point that we can never resell anyway.